Deacon Lawrence Sutton on Catechesis for Persons with Disabilities
At the Institute for Ministry Formation Catechetics Conference 2022, Deacon Larry addressed the 2020 Directory for Catechesis on Catechesis for Persons with Disabilities.
Dr. Lawrence Sutton serves as director of pre-theology formation at Saint Vincent Seminary and is an ordained deacon and a psychologist specializing in developmental disabilities, especially autism spectrum disorders. He is the former manager of the Western Region Office of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Autism Services and is nationally recognized for developing his own methodology for providing religious education to children with special needs.
Sutton earned a bachelor of arts in psychology from Edinboro State College, a master of education and Ph.D. from the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh, and a post-doctorate certificate from the School of Psychology, Duquesne University. A licensed psychologist in both Pennsylvania and West Virginia, he holds certificates as a school psychologist in Pennsylvania, and in elementary and secondary guidance in Pennsylvania.
His first book, How To Welcome, Include and Catechize Children with Autism and other Developmental Disabilities, a Parish Based Approach, described a successful method for a priest, director of religious education, and a parish to help those with autism and developmental disabilities be fully welcomed into the Church. The book is available from www.loyalapress.com.
You can watch Deacon Larry’s complete talk as well as the other talks from the IMF Conference on Catechesis 2022 by clicking on the link below.
About the Conference
The Institute for Ministry Formation hosted an online Conference featuring the 2020 Directory for Catechesis. Experts from across the nation participated in 16 talks on understanding and implementing various aspects of the Directory for Catechesis. The teaching from these experts is outstanding and you can access the full videos for your ongoing study on Catechetics. You can survey the full content of the conference through the IMF Mighty Network by clicking here.